Love delicious and pretty desserts? This Berry Pavlova Recipe is one of our favorites, a fun and elegant dessert that you can serve to your guests.
Today I’m super excited to share a Berry Pavlova Recipe that I’m using for a simple brunch or catch up gathering with a small group of friends.
With a side whipped cream, this is one show-stopping (yet SO EASY!!) dessert! YES, I said easy! You think and see a Pavlova and you think hard right?
Well you are thinking wrong, while there are different elements to this recipe, it is actually pretty simple and fun to create and one of our absolute favorites.
Some of our favorite berry desserts that we have on our site include Lemon Berry Sweet Rolls, Patriotic Mixed Berry Pie and Red Berry Trifle.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Completely homemade, you can top this pavlova with anything you’d like.
- The pastry cream is easy to whip up and adds the perfect topping to this dish.
- You can make these into minis if you’d like!
HOW TO MAKE BERRY PAVLOVA:
For the pavlova:
-
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Using a pencil, trace a 9-inch circle on parchment paper, turn the paper upside down so the pencil marking is still visible but on the underside of the paper. Place on a large sheet tray, set aside.
-
In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), add the egg whites and salt. Starting at low speed, gradually increase the speed until glossy soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar one tablespoon at a time, scraping the sides as needed. On high speed, whip the egg whites until glossy stiff peaks form.
-
Add the cornstarch, vinegar, and vanilla, and fold in until combined. Turn out meringue onto the parchment lined sheet tray. Staying within the lines of the pencil markings, flatten out the meringue and smooth the sides, add the slightest indention in the center of the meringue so the toppings will stay for presentation.
-
Place into the oven on the middle rack, immediately reduce the heat to 300°F. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Without opening the oven door, turn off the oven and let the meringue cool completely. This can take 6+ hours. I suggest making this the day before.
For the pastry cream:
-
In a medium sauce pot, add the milk and 1/4 cup of the sugar, whisk to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. While heating, in a large bowl, add the egg yolks, egg, cornstarch, and remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar. Whisk until smooth.
-
Once the milk comes to a boil, very slowly drizzle the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Add all of the milk to the egg mixture, then transfer everything back into the sauce pot. Over medium heat, bring it back up to a boil, stirring constantly.
-
Once the mixture reaches a boil, take it off the heat and stir in the butter. Stir until it is completely dissolved, then stir in the vanilla. Immediately cover with plastic wrap so the plastic is touching the top of the pastry cream so a skin does not form. Place in the fridge until cold.
Pavlova assembly:
-
Place cooled pavlova on cake stand or whatever you are using to serve. Top with the pastry cream and berries. You can top with whipped cream, or serve it on the side, this is optional.
WHAT IS A PAVLOVA?
Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert. It has a crisp crust and light inside it is usually topped with fruit, pastry cream and whipped cream.
CAN YOU MAKE THIS AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes, you can make the meringue layer several days before the rest of the Pavlova Recipe.
Once the meringue layer has been created, wrap it tightly in plastic until you’re ready to create the full Berry Pavlova Recipe.
This is something that we do often especially when we know that we are having guests and will be making this, it saves us time the day of serving.
You can even make the pastry cream ahead of time as well and keep that refrigerated until ready to serve.
HOW TO STORE?
While it’s best to make Pavlova no more than one day before you serve, you can keep Pavlova in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days. It’s never good to refrigerate your Pavlova dessert.
If you don’t plan on eating this on the first day, I would suggest just topping each individual slice with pastry cream as that needs to be refrigerated and will last stored in an airtight container for 5-7 days.
HOW TO PREVENT CRACKING?
Meringue is known to crack when it cools too quickly. A few cracks here and there are normal, and I think add to the rusticness of this beautiful dessert.
The best way to avoid cracks in your meringue is to let it sit in the oven for a little bit so it can cool down slowly. This process will help keep your Berry Pavlova Recipe from cracking too much.
Don’t tell me that that slice isn’t calling your name! This Berry Pavlova Recipe is so so good and a really classic and elegant recipe that everyone loves.
If I see Pavlovas at the bakery you know that I’m going to be getting one…or many, but that doesn’t matter, they are my favorite and I can’t turn them down!
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- The base of this recipe can be made ahead of time as well as the pastry cream, see my tips above
- Known for cracking, this can be a finicky dessert, the tips above will tell you how to prevent cracking in this recipe.
- You can top this with essentially anything that you’d like, berries are one of our favorites and you can top with any kind.
- I do not recommend refrigerating this recipe, if you are not going to eat all in one day I say top with the pastry cream and berries on each slice and serve.
- You can substitute the vanilla bean paste with vanilla extract 1:1
- You can make your own whipped cream or top with store bought whipped cream.
If you are looking for deliciously beautiful dessert to have for guests, family or just because then I highly recommend that you make this Berry Pavlova Recipe!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this BERRY PAVLOVA RECIPE let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!
Berry Pavlova Recipe
Ingredients
For the pavlova
- 4 large egg whites
- pinch salt
- 1 & 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
For the pastry cream
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 + 1/3 cup granulated sugar divided
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Additional Toppings
- 3 ounces fresh blueberries
- 3 ounces fresh raspberries
- 1 & 1/2 cups fresh strawberries diced
- 1 recipe whipped cream optional
Instructions
For the pavlova
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Using a pencil, trace a 9-inch circle on parchment paper, turn the paper upside down so the pencil marking is still visible but on the underside of the paper. Place on a large sheet tray, set aside.
- In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), add the egg whites and salt. Starting at low speed, gradually increase the speed until glossy soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar one tablespoon at a time, scraping the sides as needed. On high speed, whip the egg whites until glossy stiff peaks form.
- Add the cornstarch, vinegar, and vanilla, and fold in until combined. Turn out meringue onto the parchment lined sheet tray. Staying within the lines of the pencil markings, flatten out the meringue and smooth the sides, add the slightest indention in the center of the meringue so the toppings will stay for presentation.
- Place into the oven on the middle rack, immediately reduce the heat to 300°F. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Without opening the oven door, turn off the oven and let the meringue cool completely. This can take 6+ hours. I suggest making this the day before.
For the pastry cream
- In a medium sauce pot, add the milk and 1/4 cup of the sugar, whisk to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. While heating, in a large bowl, add the egg yolks, egg, cornstarch, and remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar. Whisk until smooth.
- Once the milk comes to a boil, very slowly drizzle the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Add all of the milk to the egg mixture, then transfer everything back into the sauce pot. Over medium heat, bring it back up to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Once the mixture reaches a boil, take it off the heat and stir in the butter. Stir until it is completely dissolved, then stir in the vanilla. Immediately cover with plastic wrap so the plastic is touching the top of the pastry cream so a skin does not form. Place in the fridge until cold.
Pavlova assembly
- Place cooled pavlova on cake stand or whatever you are using to serve. Top with the pastry cream and berries. You can top with whipped cream, or serve it on the side, this is optional.
Notes
- The base of this recipe can be made ahead of time as well as the pastry cream, see my tips above
- Known for cracking, this can be a finicky dessert, the tips above will tell you how to prevent cracking in this recipe.
- You can top this with essentially anything that you'd like, berries are one of our favorites and you can top with any kind.
- I do not recommend refrigerating this recipe, if you are not going to eat all in one day I say top with the pastry cream and berries on each slice and serve.
- You can substitute the vanilla bean paste with vanilla extract 1:1
- You can make your own whipped cream or top with store bought whipped cream.
Nutrition
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